Neckwear construction



y 1959 A. L. KUHLMAN 2,886,823

NECKWEAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 24, 1956 INVENTOR.

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HTTORNEYS Patented May 19, 1959 2,886,823 NECKWEAR coNsrRUcTitoN Arthur L. Kuhlman, Anchorville, Mich.

Application October 241-, 1956, Serial No. 617,985

6 Claims. (Cl. 2-145) This invention relates to neckwear constructions for men, boys, and girls, and more particularly to a reversible necktie construction which need not be tied, but which may be attached directly to a shirt, waist, or dress, and be removably retained thereon, the necktie serving to hold the adjacent edges of the shirt, waist, or dress collar in predetermined spaced relation and presenting a pleasing appearance.

Some shirt constructions are designed with a view towards providing a shirt which attractively may be worn either with or without a necktie, or with the collar buttoned closed or worn open. Such shirts invariably have a better appearance one way than the other, since a shirt capable of being attractively worn open at the neck cannot present an unwrinkled, wholly attractive appearance when buttoned and worn with a tie. Thev absence of a 'shirt which is wholly adaptable to either mode of wear probably lies in the reluctance of manufacturers to provide a shirt adapted for openneck wearing in which the ends of the neckband extend beyond the adjacent, attached edges of the collar, as would be required to produce a so-called spread collar having sufiicient space between the edges thereof to accommodate the knot of a tie, because when the collar is worn open, the neckband extensions would appear as unattractive tabs. Thus, when a shirt collar adapted for openneck wear is buttoned and worn with a tie, the meeting edges of the collar usually overlie the knot of the tie and results in a not entirely pleasing appearance.

An object of this invention is to provide a neckwear construction which is capable of holding the adjacent or meeting edges of a shirt collar in predetermined spaced relation so as not to obscure the upper end of the neckwear.

Another object of the invention is to provide a neckwear construction which need not be tied, but which may be attached directly to a shirt, and yet which is not conspicuously different in appearance from conventional knotted neckwear.

A further object of the invention is to provide a neckwear construction of the kind referred to in which the attaching means is obscured from view.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a neckwear construction which is readily reversible.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent or will be pointed out specifically in the following description when considered in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is an elevational view of a shirt provided with neckwear constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l, but showing a different style of neckwear embodying the invention;

Figure 3 is an elevational view illustrating the manner in which the neckwear is attached to the shirt; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the neckwear shown in Figure 2.

Neckwear constructed in accordance with the disclosure in Figures 1 and 3 is designated generally by the reference character 1 and comprises a body portion 2 formed of fabric of suitable length and terminating at its upper end 3 in a fiap portion 4 which is adapted to overlie the upper region of the body portion 2 for purposes presently to be described. Preferably, the body portion 2 and the flap portion 4 each is formed from two strips of material secured together along their edges by stitching (not shown) or the like. Interesting color combinations can be obtained if the opposite sides of the body portion and the flap portion are made from differently colored material. Such a combination is indicated in Figures 1 and 2.

Means for attaching the article of neckwear to a shirt is included and comprises on one face of the body portion a button 5 secured by stitchin or the like and a cornpanion buttonhole 6, the latter preferably extending completely through the body portion. The face of the body portion on which the button 5 is secured is the facewhich is opposite to the face which will be in view when the tie is being worn. When the tie is made reversible, another button 7 is secured to the opposite face of the body portion above or below the buttonhole 6, and a companion buttonhole 8 is provided in the body portion at the level ofthe button 7.

To attach the article of neckwear to a shirt 9, the wearer does not button the top button 10 of the shirt, but permits the collar 11 to remain open. The tie 1 is attached to the shirt by inserting one of the buttons 5 or 7 through the shirt buttonhole 12, and by inserting the shirt button 10 through the companion buttonhole 6 or 8. Then the flap portion is turned downwardly so as to overlie and conceal the attaching means. In so-called sport shirts, the natural tendency of the shirt collar is to spread so as to leave a V-shaped opening between the edges of the neckband, but this tendency will be overcome by the securely anchored tie. Thus, the collar cannot spread an undue amount, but there will be permitted a spread equivalent to the spacing of the buttons 5 and 7 and their companion buttonholes. This spread will be concealed by the flap portion 4 and will permit the latter to be visible to the extent shown in Figure 1 so as to present an attractive appearance.

Preferably, the flap portion 4 is provided with a stiffening member 13 between the two layers of fabric so aswto assure the fiaps remaining in a position to conceal the tie attaching means. The stiffening member may be formed of heavy cloth or any other suitable material and the body portion may include suitable and conventional lining material (not shown) to assure that the body portion will be wrinkle resistant.

The construction shown in Figures 2 and 4 is similar to that described above, the difference being that the Figures 2 and 4 tie 14 has the general configuration of a conventional four-in-hand necktie, i.e., the body portion 15 tapers from a point adjacent one end towards both the upper end and the lower ends. The body portion 15 terminates in an upper end 16 to which is secured as by stitching or in any other suitable manner a flap portion 17. Since the body portion tapers upwardly, the flap portion must taper downwardly in order that it will overlie completely the upper region of the body portion. The body portion 15 of the article of neckwear 14 is provided with means for detachably securing the tie to a shirt 9, the securing means comprising buttons 5a and 7a and companion buttonholes 6a and 8a arranged in exactly the same manner as the corresponding parts described in connection with Figures 1 and 3.

The article 14 is adapted to be attached to the shirt 9 1n the same manner as the article 1, and irrespective of which side of the reversible body portion 15 is to face outwardly, the flap portion 17 may be utilized to conceal the fastening means and to present the same or different color side outwardly as is presented by the body portion. To assure that the flap portion will remain in overlying relation with respect to the attaching means, a suitable stiffener 18 may be incorporated between the layers of material forming the flap portion, and, as is customary, the body portion may include a suitable inner lining (not shown).

This disclosure is representative of presently preferred forms of the invention, but is intended to be illustrative rather than definitive thereof. The invention is defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A neckwear construction for attachment to a shirt having a neckband equipped with a button and a buttonhole for closing said neckband, said construction com.- prising a flexible, longitudinally extending body portion; a flexible flap portion connected to one end of said body portion to form an extension of the latter and being capable of being folded to overlie an adjacent section of said body portion; and means on said body portion in the overlying region of said fiap portion for removably attaching said body portion both to said button and to said buttonhole of said shirt neckband, said fiap portion being of such length as to conceal said attaching means when folded to overlie said adjacent section of said body portiOn.

2. A construction as set forth in claim 1 in which said attaching means comprises a button for insertion through said buttonhole of the shirt neckband and a buttonhole for reception of said button of the shirt neckband.

3. A construction as set forth in claim 1 including means in said flap portion for stifiening the overlying part of the latter.

4. A reversible neckwear construction comprising a flexible, longitudinally extending body portion; a flexible flap portion connected to one end of said body portion to form an extension of the latter and being capable of being folded to overlie an adjacent section of either side of said body portion; and means on each side of said body portion in the overlying region of said flap portion for attaching said body portion both to a button and to a buttonhole of a shirt with either side of said body portion facing outwardly, said flap portion being of such length as to be capable of concealing said attaching means in its overlying position irrespective of which side of said body portion faces outwardly.

5. A construction as set forth in claim 4 in which said attaching means comprises a button on each side of said body portion for insertion in a buttonhole in the shirt and a Companion buttonhole in said body portion for each body portion button for reception of a button on the shirt.

6. A construction as set forth in claim 4 including means in said flap portion for stiffening the overlying portion of the latter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,956,489 Bryant Apr. 24, 1934 2,090,724 Drumm Aug. 24, 1937 2,598,539 Heim May 27, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,697 Great Britain Mar. 26, 1908 193,904 Switzerland Feb. 1, 1938 

